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Kris (Herald)
For other uses of 'Kris,' see the disambiguation page. Herald Kris was Talia's mentor on her first circuit. A student of history, law, and administration, he had hoped to replace Dean Elcarth when the elder Herald retired from the Collegium. His uncle, Lord Orthallen, tried to marry Kris to Selenay just after her coronation, to gain power over the throne. Handsome Kris was very popular with the ladies, and one chased him nonstop. Companion His Companion was the stallion Tantris, whom Kris called "Featherfoot". Gifts Kris was gifted with both FarSight and Mindspeech. The description of Kris's Gift in Arrow's Flight reveals that Kris is a Mage, though he himself is not aware of this, and his Mage-Gift is untrained. Internship Kris interned alongside Dirk under the tutelage of Herald Gerick. This was when he discovered that he gave Dirk the best "fix" of any FarSeer he had worked with before. Family Kris was the second son of Lord Peregrine, one of the Seneschal's chief assistants, and his mother organized the resupply of Heralds' Waystations throughout the realm. His parents were distant, and he had more contact with the servants. Kris was the nephew of Lord Orthallen, who used that relationship to gain information and to influence him negatively. Kris is the many-times-great-grandson of Vanyel, and they both look poetic in black. Talia Kris was chosen to be Talia's mentor on her internship. Lord Orthallen planted into Kris' head the idea that Talia used her gift of Empathy to manipulate people. This weighed heavily on his mind, and the more he doubted her, the more trouble she had controlling her gift. While on circuit, the two of them became stranded at a Waystation for some time. He finally confronted her about her gift, and to his surprise, she fell apart. He realized he had undermined her, and that she never got the basic instructions for controlling her gift. Kris then took it upon himself the train her until she could control her gift, and Ground and Centre reflexively. He did this with the help of Tantris and Rolan. While in the Waystation, Kris and Talia began a physical relationship that put Kris in an odd position, as he knew his best friend, Dirk, was in love with Talia and suspected it was mutual. He suspected that they had a lifebond. Talia and Kris each separately began to worry that the other wanted a longer relationship, but didn't clear the air until the end of the circuit. Upon their return to Haven, Dirk misinterpreted Kris and Talia's relationship. Kris also continued to defend his uncle, Lord Orthallen, to Dirk, and their friendship became untenable. Kris accepted the mission to Hardorn to get away from the stress, and only then did he realize that he had never reassured Dirk about Talia. Death Kris and his Companion were murdered by Ancar's troops when Talia was captured on the mission to Hardorn. Imprisoned and tortured, Talia experienced several visits from his spirit, but wasn't sure if they were hallucinations. When Dirk and Talia got married, they found physical evidence that he had been there and wished them well. This persistence of his spirit is like his ancestor, Vanyel, and suggests that the ability to linger after death may be related to the Mage Gift they shared. Queen Selenay probably named her son, Kris, in his memory. Music Kris is linked to several songs: some from the story, and some probably performed at gatherings. *The Face Within - a discussion about Alberich *Fundamentals - about training Talia *After Midnight - possibly about Talia *Meetings - a legend song *Sun and Shadow (song) - a legend song Dirk sings a song about Kris: *Herald's Lament In the series Kris appears in the following works: * ''Arrows of the Queen'', Heralds of Valdemar series, volume 1 * Arrow's Flight, Heralds of Valdemar series, volume 2 * ''Arrow's Fall'', Heralds of Valdemar series, volume 3 Category:Characters Category:Heralds